Page 7 of Between Love and Honor

Often, it is the person we least suspect.”

She quashed the shiver threatening to traipse up her spine. Such was the life of a spy. It was a good thing she made it a point never to trust anyone. She preferred it that way. Survival within the game was easier when she only had herself to watch out for.

“You know how to contact me once you’ve gotten the list. I will await your signal.”

And with that, he was gone.

While parts of her did a little celebratory happy dance at the potential of another close encounter with Ben, other parts cringed in fear. Or shame. No doubt he already hated her for what she’d done to him over a decade before. But it hadn’t been her fault. She had no control over her life then or now. All she could do was send up a silent prayer that she’d get out of this op without him hating her more than he likely already did. With less than steady hands, Quinn lifted her camera to her face again to capture a shot of the spectacular sunrise, but the vibrant scene she’d witnessed moments earlier had already faded.

* * *

“DUDE, DID YOU sleep in my tux?” Adam’s voice shattered the quiet of Ben’s office. The dark room was tucked in the back corner of the cyber security lab at Secret Service headquarters seven blocks from the White House. “Damn, I’ll never get those wrinkles out.”

It wasn’t unusual for Ben to catch a few Z s at his desk.

He often lost track of time when he was working on a case.

Last night, however, he’d been hunting through surveillance camera footage, trying in vain to retrace the path of a certain redhead who had seemingly vanished before his eyes.

Again.

The scent of strong coffee made it easier for him to pry his eyelids open. He sighed with gratitude when he saw his friend holding two cups. Adam set one on the desk. Ben wrapped his fingers around it drawing enough energy from the steaming brew to pull himself into an upright position.

“I’ll pay for the dry cleaning, but the bow tie is a goner.” He took a long swallow, letting the caffeine work its magic. “What time did you get away from the Crown?”

Adam slid into the opposite chair and propped his booted feet onto the desk. “Twenty minutes ago.”

“Wow.” Ben glanced at his fitness tracker. Seven fifteen. “It took that long to clear the place out?”

“Yeah, well, while you were getting your beauty sleep, Inspector Gadget, someone had to check every nook and cranny of those eighteen acres for stragglers and for sparks.”

“Crazy night.”

Adam leaned back in the chair and studied Ben over the rim of his coffee cup.

“I heard your program worked like a champ.” He saluted Ben with his coffee. “Props on shutting down a ring of cyberterrorists. Who knew you could be such a badass with a simple computer? Now you know what it’s like to take down the bad guys.”

As much as he wanted to, Ben couldn’t tell his buddy this wasn’t the first group of terrorists he’d put out of commission. That the conferences he frequently attended doubled as covert ops. To do his job effectively, he needed to keep his alter ego under wraps. The isolation wore on him sometimes, but the payoff was worth the price.

This morning, he could finally take credit for something. And he couldn’t help the burst of pride he felt at VOYEUR’s success. The program had worked just as he’d envisioned. Even better, according to his CIA contacts, the suspect was already taking a deal and naming names.

But Ben didn’t like the contemplative look on his friend’s face. Clearly, the sniper had more on his mind.

“Listen, Adam, thanks for the coffee, but I’ve got to back up the VOYEUR program before the NSA director hacks it right off my hard drive. Bro-time is going to have to wait until later.”

His friend ignored him. “Christine said the most interesting thing to me earlier.”

Ben shuffled some papers on his desk trying to appear circumspect. “She says a lot of things.”

“Yeah, but this one seemed very out of character. According to her, at the time of the blackout, you were locking eyes with some guest in the Cross Hall, almost as if you’d seen a ghost.”

Ben swore beneath his breath. “Christine talks too much.”

Adam’s eyebrows jumped up his forehead. “I take that as a confirmation. It’s not like you to lose your cool on the job. Who is she, dude?”

“What is this, the ladies’ room? I told you, I don’t have time to shoot the shit with you this morning. I’ve got important data to sift through.”

“Uh-huh.” Adam nodded at the bank of computer screens lining one of the walls of the office, all of which were displaying multiple video images of a certain fiery-haired woman in a skintight emerald-green gown. “Don’t tell me Cinderella left the ball before you could get her name and number?”

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